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User blog:SomeoneYouUsedToKnow/SYUTK's V5E8 - Blake Sucks - Impressions/Recap
What kind of stuff does Youtube give you in the "recommended videos" list? That list of videos to watch next, on the right. For me, it's been recommending music videos of various kinds. Well, "various". It's been recommending the same shit for weeks. >Calling, from The World Ends With You. >Kuraiinu's cover of Villainous Riser. >[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwUrWhRSYqc Kiznaiver's Opening song], full version. >Sapphire's cover of Butter-Fly, Digimon Adventure's opening song that sticks to one's heart like freaking glue. >AmaLee's cover of Life Will Change from Persona 5. The one song everyone uses when preparing to start running. >A bunch of songs by The Aviators, like Remains and Fading Light. I don't hate any of these songs, I like them, but I get tired of seeing the same recommended shit every single time I use Youtube no matter what I'm watching. ....So, Youtube decided to be nice and recommend more videos.......that also show up every single damn time on my recommended list on the right, regardless of relevancy, sometimes more than any of those I mentioned above. >Counting! by heiakim music. That guy who makes cool songs sung by Google Translate. >Pixel Galaxy by Snail's House. That ending gets me everytime. >Silent Scream by Anna Blue. That ENTIRE SONG gets me everytime. >Missing Halloween. Probably the only thing YT recommends me that isn't a music video. >It's Not Like I Like You!, by Static-P. I wish that out of the 15-so videos it recommends me, at least 10 of these were not any of the vids I mentioned. For the sake of variety. ---- In other news, this thing. For newcomers to this thing, this is basically me, making an informal recap of what happened in the episode, while giving my thoughts about what happens. It also includes fancy color speak. 2 are particularly notable: Red means truth, fact in the eyes of the user, le me. Blue means a guess, an hypothesis, a theory. This was made before/during Tuesday, but is posted after the episode because when I post it, the Recent Activity page gets filled with all the images I use, which would spell Spoilers-Galore. I also have classes on Tuesday from 10am to 5:30pm with some lucky exceptions, and then I have to spend time uploading every pic I'm gonna use. It's time consuming, but it doesn't spoil everyone in one flash. It didn't help that this time, besides my decreasing interest in this series, I had some work to write involving "files in Pascal" (Pascal in general, not just standard Pascal) for this week, which we were actually assigned at the beginning of November, but I had procrastinated it for quite some time. And of course, when I finally decided to watch it, my internet decided to be an asshole and I give me trouble, disconnecting randomly and often not coming back until hours later. Now, onto the episode. Note: This was written as I saw the episode. Triumph, ''or Triumph!'' ....You know, I wished I knew some place where the ratings for each Volume of the show were shown. I'm not talking about Ratings as in "E10+" or "2/5 too much water", no. I'm talking about the real Ratings that executives really care about: How many viewers tune in to watch something, which is what makes real money. With TV Shows, for example, Ratings are divided between Points and Shares, the former being the number of houses with TVs, and the latter being the number of TVs tuned in to a program when it was on. I tried googling it but I don't get anything like "Average number of people who watches RWBY in general" or "Average number of people who watched Vol.X during it's run". To see if interest in the show ever dropped or rised between Volumes and throughout a Volume. ...All I got, at least for first results, was "Which was your favorite Volume? (1-4)" and an EXTREMELY GODDAMN STUPID page on Imdb that is, again, extremely goddamn stupid. For starters, it calls RWBY a TV SHOW, that started it's run in 2012, gives it an 8.3/10 (probably the least insulting part), and does little more than provide a basic synopsis of the first Volume, aside from a Storyline description that is just bound to misinform people. Synopsis: "Team RWBY trains to fight crime and monsters known as the Grimm. Together they will protect the world of Remnant." Most brilliant work, 10/10, deserves an Academy Award. Storyline Description: "The story takes place in the world of Remnant, which is filled with supernatural forces and shadowy creatures known as the Grimm. Prior to the events of the series, mankind waged a battle of survival against the Grimm before discovering the power of a mysterious element called Dust, which allowed them to fight back against the monsters. In the present day, Dust is used to power magical abilities and weapons. Those who use these abilities to battle the Grimm are known as Huntsmen and Huntresses. The series focuses on four girls, each with her own unique weapon and powers. Together, they form a team at Beacon Academy in the city of Vale, where they are trained to become Huntresses. Written by Anonymous" 1>"Supernatural Forces", mentioned separatedly from the Grimm. I think we can count those in one hand and only about 1 of those shows up in the first 3 seasons. If by "Supernatural Forces" they didn't mean "Evil Half-Maiden who works for Grimm Queen of Darkness", then, since it separated them from the Grimm, there's nothing to really count. 2>"Dust is used to power magical abilities and weapons. Those who use these abilities to battle the Grimm are known as Huntsmen and Huntresses". While technically not wrong, the way it phrases it makes RWBY sound like a much more generic work than it was even in Vol.1. Plus it ignores how Dust is used to power basically everything, and Huntwhatevers are not the only ones who use it. ....And then there's the kid who wrote an User Review that is basically "RWBY is absolutely perfect", entire paragraphs of nothing but mindless praise while completely ignoring all the issues, minor and major. ....What kind of morons wrote all that crap? It's lazy, at some points even insulting to read. 1) Blake Sucks: The Fellowship of the Blake RBirdwatching1.png|''1 bird...2 birds...3 birds...'' V5 08 00002.png|''What am I doing with my life?'' We start the episode with Ruby wasting her life watching birds instead of doing anything remotely productive and with no fear of any of those doves pooping on her face. RBirdwatching3.png|''Don't you have better things to do in the morning than watching birds?'' RBirdwatching4.png|''Apparently, I don't'' V5 08 00003.png|''Well, don't come crying to me if they bombard your face when you least expect it'' RBirdwatching6.png|''Please don't scare me like that'' RWYTalk1.png|''So, what are you doing here sis?'' RWYTalk2.png|''I tried to sleep, but stupid nightmares keep waking me up'' RWYTalk3.png|''Yeah, I know that feel'' V5 08 00004.png|''Well, when nightmares don't let you sleep, coffee's all you need to clear your head'' RWYCoffee2.png|''I know your mother's an ass, Yang, but that coffee of hers smelled reeeally good'' RWYCoffee3.png|''Please tell me it has cream and sugar'' RWYCoffee4.png|''Nope, all black. Better suck it up, Leader'' RWYCoffee5.png|''Ah, how nice, you're the kindest person I've ever met, Weiss'' RWYCoffee6.png|''Keep it up and I wil pour this on your face'' RWYCoffee7.png|''Ah, how I missed that Freezerburning attitude of yours...'' V5 08 00005.png|''You know, I can't believe we're actually in Mistral'' RWYTalk5.png|''Between Birdshifters, Grimmlords and people with 2 Souls, this is what you can't believe?'' RWYTalk6.png|''Yeah, yeah, you know what I mean'' RWYTalk7.png|''I thought I would never see you two ever again'' RWYTalk8.png|''Well, you did. And there was much rejoicing. Let's drink to celebrate!'' RWYCoffee8.png|''Holy crap, this coffee is amazing! Good job there, Weiss!'' .......Okay, stop. This is minor, but it's kind of triggering for me. They are in Mistral, the most Asian place on Remnant, the place that just SCREAMS Asian, the place that literally every single village we saw in Vol.4 had a Japanese name and if not then at least looked Asian. ....And yet they are drinking from Western-style coffee mugs, which have handles, despite being, again, in Remnant's Asia. Now, sure, even in the most Eastern places some people use Western-style mugs, so that in itself is fine, but then there's the way they drink from it. Weiss literally grabs it by the handle, while Yang just grabs it. Ruby is the only one who bothers to drink it in the actual Eastern style of drinking from coffee mugs: Resting the mug on one's palm. In other words, Ruby is the only one who isn't being offensive here. What Yang is doing is the coffee equivalent of going to China and not bothering to speak or read the slightest bit of Chinese. While what Weiss is doing is the same, only that she waves the US Flag on top of it. It's a minor thing, but they are in the most Asian place in Remnant. They could at least try to emulate Ren in this regard. ....Actually, what were Western-style coffee mugs doing in that house? Yes, like I said, even Eastern places have those mugs, but generally they have, you know, Eastern-style mugs. And considering how Asian Mistral is, it's strange that RT didn't just use Eastern-style coffee mugs, like the one Ren held at one point in Vol.2. RememberBlake1.png|''...Hey girls, remember Blake?'' V5 08 00006.png|''You mean that deserter who abandoned her friends without a message, during a crisis, after one of them had just lost an arm trying to save her?'' V5 08 00007.png|''She'd be here with us if she was a good teammate. It's no big deal though, she barely had presence'' V5 08 00008.png|''...Don't you want her to come back so Team RWBY will be whole again?'' RememberBlake5.png|''Do I look like I want her to come back?'' RememberBlake6.png|''...You're still mad at her for leaving, aren't you?'' RememberBlake7.png|''Oh please, I'm not mad at all. I'm fine, perfectly fine, never been finer my whole life'' RememberBlake8.png|''Okay, enough, your sarcasm sucks. Just calm down'' V5 08 00009.png|''BITCH, SHE KNEW ABOUT MY ABANDONMENT ISSUES AND SHE STILL ABANDONED ME AFTER I LITERALLY LOST AN ARM FOR HER, AND YOU WANT ME TO CALM DOWN?!'' RememberBlake10.png|''Uh...yes?'' This....this bit...is beautiful, and clears some of my fears away. Blake might've had her reasons for leaving, but what she did was incredibly dickish and while one can rationalize her decision, one can't really justify it in a way that makes Blake look like a good friend and teammate. Yang was unconscious and literally lost an arm trying to save her. On a bigger scale, Grimm were everywhere, Pyrrha was going off to her death, Ozpin was dead, the CCT was down, Atlesian Robots were killing everyone, etc. And then Blake abandons her team and friends, without a word. Sure, she did it because she feared that if she stayed, Adam would really go hunt her friends down. But the fact is that even if we leave aside all of Yang's issues regarding black-haired aloof women abandoning her without a single message, what Blake did must make her look like quite the Ungrateful Bastard to Yang, and quite the Jerkish "Friend" too, after all their lovely friendship moments either alone or with the whole team. Hell, Yang literally told Blake her personal issues involving being abandoned by her real mother and only realizing it by dumb luck years later. BLAKE KNEW ALL THIS when she decided to abandon her without a message. .........So, why is this bit so beautiful? Well, I really, really want Yang to punch Blake in the face once they meet again. Even if she forgave her inmediately, at least punch her face once, let Blake suffer real consequences for failing at being a Good Friend and Teammate when Yang needed one the most. But part of me feared that M&K would just have RWY forgive Blake and ignore that assholish action of her. And so far it seems like that's the case with Weiss and Ruby, but I cared more about how Yang felt about it, and cared more about her NOT forgiving Blake so easily. And then this scene comes, and even if it's not as "passionate" as the version I wrote here, it reassures me that Yang is at least hurt about it. I'm still hoping for a punch, but if it doesn't happen, then at least I mostly-know that their friendship went back to square 1, and thus there's (Almost) no fear of any "Easily Forgiven" bullshit. At best "Forgiven but not Forgotten". It also means that Bumblebee S.S.'s possibility of reaching Canon Island has decreased for quite the amount, at least for now. And that's always good. V5 08 00011.png|''ARGH! Screw you people!'' RememberBlake12.png|''...She's got issues'' Speaking of Blake... V5 08 00012.png|''Yang, Weiss, Ruby...I wonder if they're ok...'' StrangeNote2.png|''BLAKE, ARE YOU READY TO GO?!'' StrangeNote3.png|''Sun, shut up, I'm busy dramatically reminiscing right now!'' V5 08 00013.png|''Okay...where was I-uh? A note?'' StrangeNote5.png|''Did Ilia leave this? My gosh, our guards are awful'' StrangeNote6.png|''Well, let's give it a read'' V5 08 00014.png|''Mmm...yup, definitely a trap'' StrangeNote8.png|''Does she think I'm an idiot? Or maybe…she’s wants to tell me something'' StrangeNote9.png|''BLAKE, ARE YOU READY TO GO RECRUITING OR NOT?!'' V5 08 00015.png|''We have the whole night-section to go through, remember?!'' Wait...Night section? Recruiting? ....They are gonna try to recruit people at midnight? '''They're still trying to recruit people?!' Come on, this is just dumb and superfluous at this point. They were already 100% unsuccessful during the day and many pretty much FLED away from them on sight. What makes them think they'll have any luck at midnight? It's like 12am, just let people sleep. StrangeNote11.png|(Mmm...maybe I should speak to Ilia first...)'' StrangeNote12.png|''...You okay?'' StrangeNote13.png|''Yeah, I just got some stuff to do first. I'll catch up with you later'' StrangeNote14.png|''Oh, okay...'' 2) Misery Poker V5 08 00016.png V5 08 00017.png|''Dammit Blake, why'd you have to leave?'' InterruptedYang1.png|''KNOCK'' InterruptedYang2.png|''Dammit, what now?!'' InterruptedYang3.png|''Look Ruby, I'm not changing my mind, and I don't want to talk about it anymore, so just leave me-'' InterruptedYang4.png|''-Oh...'' V5 08 00019.png|''You failed a spot check'' InterruptedYang6.png|''What do you want, Weiss?'' InterruptedYang7.png|''Ruby told me to apologize for how uncaring I was back there'' InterruptedYang8.png|''But that's boring, and you're still mad, so let's talk about Blake'' V5 08 00020.png|''Look, I'm not changing my mind, and that's final. I doubt you even know what it feels to be abandoned'' WYMiseryPoker2.png|''You got a giant family, sung in theaters every week, ate fancy dinner every night...I never got any of that'' WYMiseryPoker3.png|''My mom left me, my other mom died, dad was depressed and always working, and Ruby could barely say more than "Ughuh gaga"'' V5 08 00021.png|''I had to take care of myself on my own. I had to pick up the pieces on my own. I had to solve the puzzle on my own...'' WYMiseryPoker5.png|''...Okay, you gonna say anything or what?'' WYMiseryPoker6.png|''Alright, you had it rough. But I have enough chips myself to play some Misery Poker'' WYMiseryPoker7.png|''When I was 10, I heard my father tell my mom that he only married her to be a Schnee'' WYMiseryPoker8.png|''That was on my birthday, too'' WYMiseryPoker9.png|''He missed dinner, she got mad, he snapped, and there he said it'' WYMiseryPoker10.png|''I think we already figured it by then, but that was the last straw for her'' WYMiseryPoker11.png|''First, separate dinners and lunches. Separate balconies during my concerts'' V5 08 00023.png|''Then she fell in love with wine, and now she does nothing but drink and drink while rarely showing her face'' Okay, stop. This is fine info, especially for Weiss's mom who can barely be considered a character so far. But I cannot feel happy about these "revelations" because not only are they rather late, they're a sign that the show might regress back into bad habits, in this case of Telling '''us things instead of '''Showing us things. So Jacques married into the family, really just for the name. Ok. Then'' how come we never got any of this back in Vol.4? Why are we being TOLD this by Weiss, a whole year later?'' Hell, why didn't she mention this little bit when she was calling out Jacques for not letting her leave Atlas after she almost-killed someone?! That would've been a perfect moment to reveal that. All Weiss said (prior to the slap) was that it was her family name, and that he married into it. Ok, he married into it, but that doesn't mean he's an asshole. Now, what if, instead of just saying that, Weiss added this little bit of info? That he didn't just marry into the Schnee family, he did it only for the name. THAT, would've taken like 3 more seconds at worst, and would've made Jacques look more like a REAL asshole instead of just a shitty parent whose actions are justified with only 2 exceptions. ---- Speaking of assholes, there's something I mentioned to Ark and others in the Discord chat last week. That, I feel that at times, it seems like M&K just write a character that is an asshole, just for the sake of being an asshole, with no real depth beyond being an asshole, and whose only purpose is to be an asshole just to drive the plot in some direction. >'First' was Cardin, who is just an ass to everyone, racist just to be more of an ass, and a bully just to be more of an ass. All to give Jaune a cheap arc in V1, and an excuse to get his ass kicked by Pyrrha in V2. >'Second' was the Trophy Wife, whose very character is just being an uncaring, apathetic asshole to provide an excuse for Weiss to yell at the guests, and apparently to justify Weiss giving no shits about almost-killing/injuring her afterwards and seemingly to convince the audience to do the same (and looking at Reddit, it worked -_-). >'Now' we have Jacques. His entire character is just being a shitty parent and corrupt asshole who doesn't even care about his family, all he cares about is PR and the Schnee family name. Just to provide Weiss an goal. What annoys me is how Miles and Kerry are seemingly incompetent and utterly unwilling at giving asshole characters some depth so people can say "Oh, yeah, he's an asshole, but he's more than just that". Cardin himself has tons of potential to "redeem" himself and become a better person, which has been done quite a damn lot in fanfics. As for Jacques, well, there's tons of myriads of examples of "Abusive Parent" characters that are more than just that. One example that comes to mind is Jecht from Final Fantasy X; Alcoholic, emotionally abusive, can't really bond with his son Tidus or even speak to him without sounding like a condescending jerk... ...Yet he did honestly love his family, he was just horrible at expressing said love. He was rough with Tidus because he believed it would "toughen him up". He even swore to not drink alcohol ever again after causing some trouble via slicing an innocent animal in half while drunk. WHY CAN'T THIS SHOW'S WRITERS MAKE THEIR ASSHOLES LIKE THAT?! Assholes that are more than just assholes, or at least change instead of remaining assholes. It's not that hard. And it doesn't remove their assholishness, it just makes them more sympathetic and believable. ---- WYMiseryPoker13.png|''Sorry, I shouldn't have assumed, I didn't know what you've been through'' WYMiseryPoker14.png|''You're right though. I may have like 4 songs about being lonely, but it's a different kind from yours'' ExcusesForBlake1.png|''And I bet Blake has her own version too'' ExcusesForBlake2.png|''It's different. We all were there for her, and she still left. SHE abandoned US by her own choice'' ExcusesForBlake3.png|''...Okay, let's turn the table. Why do you think she left?'' ExcusesForBlake4.png|''Eh?'' ExcusesForBlake5.png|''Honestly, she was a much better Ice Queen than I was. She was always putting up walls, trying to keep us separate from her'' ExcusesForBlake6.png|''And when her walls came crashing down, her one fear happened. The universe proved her right'' ................Huh? Wait, what was this one fear she had, again? Last time I checked, she was afraid of her actual race being discovered. And what was it that the universe proved her right on, again? Racial Discrimination? Please, that's a joke. Blake's "secret" was kept a secret by Ozpin, Sun and RWY. Aside from Weiss apparently telling Jaune and co. prior to Vol.2, and JNPR kept it secret too. Blake never faced any actual Racial Discrimination in her entire time at Vale, because SHE HAD GOOD FRIENDS. Hell, the one time she (and us) actually saw Racial Discrimination on Beacon grounds, she didn't give a fuck. Or was "her one fear" supposed to be people discovering that she was an Ex-terrorist? That seems more reasonable, the one time she ran away from her team (before V3) was after she revealed that bit, to the face of the Heiress of the WF's Nº1 target and one of the people with the most reason to distrust (or worse) Blake if she found out. ....Actually, in hindsight, Monty and co. really failed at exploiting that bit. Imagine a terrorist group constantly hunting and harrasing your family. Now imagine you get a new friend. Then you discover that friend was part of that terrorist group. That's pretty good nightmare fuel, if you ask me. Weiss should've had a minor panic attack back then. But returning to Blake, if her fear was "Racial Discrimination" if people found out she was a Faunus (which is in line with what she told Ozpin), then what Weiss is saying about "the universe proving her right" is complete bullshit. While if her fear was "Persecution for being an Ex-Terrorist", it's more reasonable....though the universe still didn't prove her right in the slightest since, again, SHE HAD GOOD FRIENDS. Hell, the one person with the most justified reasons to hate or distrust Blake, Weiss herself, forgave her quite quickly (even if she had to change her mind OFF-SCREEN). ...So what the hell is Weiss talking about there? Yes, Blake "put up walls" and yes, they "came crashing down eventually". But the universe didn't prove Blake right one bit. M&K are pulling shit out of their asses to make Blake look sympathetic here. BlakeSucks3.png|''No one blamed her for anything, and if she actually talked to us she would've known that! How can we be there for her if she doesn't let us?'' V5 08 00024.png|''What if I needed her here for me?'' BeThereForBlake1.png|''I know it's hard Yang, but the best we can do is be there for her when she comes back'' BeThereForBlake2.png|''You mean, IF she comes back'' BeThereForBlake3.png|''No, I mean WHEN she comes back'' BeThereForBlake4.png|''Yang, you, Ruby and even Blake are more family to me than my own father and brother. And I bet Blake feels the same way'' Okay, time out again. Weiss says that she sees RBY as more of a family than even her brother and father. Okay. Then she bets that Blake feels the same way. But there are problems with this reasoning. For starters, her father is an asshole and her brother can't speak without sounding like a condescending brat. And how much either cares about Weiss as a person is questionable. Her mother herself, she rarely sees her, and Winter is no real "Sister of the Year" even if the only person who shows more familial love to Weiss than Winter does is Klein. So "RBY being more family to me than her father and brother", is a pretty low achievement. I bet even Zwei is more family to her than her father and brother. And of course, Blake herself has quite the lovely family, who even after not seeing her for literal years, forgave her inmediately, even after discovering the lovely things the WF has been doing. So using the whole "you're more family to me than my real family" reasoning works in HER case, but she shouldn't just assume that Blake feels the same way or even similarly, using that reasoning, especially if she doesn't know Blake's own family relationship. It's a minor thing, to be honest. Though what isn't so honest is how the entire scene now feels like Weiss is just saying "Yeah, Blake left us in our darkest hour, but she's our friend, so it's totally fine". Seriously, I'm hoping hard for Yang to invoke "Forgiven but not Forgotten" on Blake at this point. Something like: "Okay, you had your reasons for leaving, and I forgive you for that. But you still abandoned us without a message after I lost an arm trying to save you. And for that, you lost my trust on you. If you want me to trust you again, you must regain that trust. I forgive you, but we're back to square 1". Sounds better than "Yeah, you left us after I got dismembered trying to save you, you never sent any messages, you didn't even say goodbye, and this is after all we've done for you. But it's totally fine, no hard feelings". BeThereForBlake5.png|''So when she's ready and comes back, I'll be there for her'' V5 08 00025.png|''And Yang, even if I can be a bit of a bitch at times...I'm here for you too'' BeThereForBlake7.png|''Thanks Weiss. I needed some comfort'' ChilledYang1.png|''KNOCK'' ChilledYang2.png|''Hey Yang, did you chill out already?'' V5 08 00026.png|''Yeah, all thanks to Ice Queen here'' V5 08 00027.png|''Oh, thank goodness, I feared that you would burn the whole house down'' 3) Obvious Trap is Obvious V5 08 00028.png|''Okay, I'm here, show yourself'' V5 08 00029.png|''I'm here, don't worry, I'm not gonna hurt you'' V5 08 00030.png|''Oh, good. Alright, I know you're having second thoughts, and I can assure you, my family can keep you safe...'' IliaTrap4.png|''But first: Is this a trap?'' V5 08 00031.png|''Yup'' IliaTrap6.png|''Barnacles'' IliaTrap7.png|''WATCH OUT FOR THE EDGE!!!'' IliaTrap8.png V5 08 00035.png|''(I should've expected this...)'' V5 08 00036.png|''I can't believe she actually fell for it'' Okay, I need to point it out, though I think everyone knows the best way to sum up this entire scene: Blake is a moron. Ilia is with the WF, and Blake knows this. She might be her old friend and the most sympathetic member of the WF, but she's still in the WF nevertheless. First she showed up, in this Volume, to warn Blake. Then she showed up to scream at her father while making very dumb "counterarguments" against the Belladonnas. And now she suddenly leaves a note telling Blake to meet her in an isolated, quiet area. At midnight. Alone. And Blake goes there anyway. Alone. Without telling Sun or anyone. And she's surprised when it turns out the trap was a trap. Ugh, why are Miles and Kerry using the Idiot Plot trope? AGAIN. First in Vol.4, which, in an overall sense, has RNJR dropping the map like 3 or 4 times in the entire season and never going back to pick it up. Then they get lost while Qrow gets poisoned, and we get teased like 20 times that Qrow might die until he inevitably doesn't. RNJR's whole journey to Mistral, even skipping quite a chunk of it, only took a whole Volume because they are freaking idiots. RNJR's whole plot in Volume 4 only happened as it did because they're freaking idiots. And now we have Blake picking up the pace in that regard, happily walking into quite the obvious trap with no precaution beyond her weapon. Why? Why have her be so stupid just to move the plot forward? Ruby at least stumbled into things instead of walking straight into them. Actually, let's talk about her weapon. The moment Ilia makes herself known, Blake pulls out her weapon as if by reflex, like if she expected Ilia to attack her or something. Even afterwards she sounds rather scared as she speaks to Ilia. So at least some part of her must have felt it was a trap. ....And yet she did it anyway. Alone. Without telling Sun. Actually, let's talk about Ilia. In past episodes she acted like she didn't want to fight Blake, and the worst thing she did was, aside from tazing Sun for calling her human, interrupt her father's speech and yell at him. Hell, when she was ordered to go kill Blake's parents, she looked as if someone stabbed her in the heart. ...Yet now she's ambushing Blake with the help of Nondescript Rockface, Yuma Aow D'Hedge the Dark Knight, and female Mercury...Femmercury (I don't know, she just looks like Merc to me). With no apparent second thoughts about it. Actually, let's talk about the three amigos over there....wait, no, it's getting too out of track, let's save it for the conclusion. IliaTrap11.png|''Alright, you got me there, but don't think you will-'' V5 08 00037.png|''Hey! That's not fair!'' V5 08 00038.png|''We are Faunus. Nothing is fair for us'' IliaTrap14.png|''Well said, Sister Trifa'' IliaTrap15.png|''And good job, Sister Ilia'' IliaTrap16.png|''Have your GunDrillRapierLaserWhipTazer thing back'' ...............What kind of person would name their daughter TRIFA? Geez, M&K, can't you pick names that aren't so cringey to read? Can't you pick something we can read and keep a straight face afterwards? V5 08 00039.png|''Ilia, you can't be serious!'' CrazyIlia2.png|''I'm sorry that it has to be this way Blake, but your family is holding the Faunus Master Race back'' CrazyIlia3.png|''For trying to save people?! What is wrong with you?!'' 8D-TiedBlake.png|''In what world do you live in where killing innocents is the right thing to do?!'' CrazyIlia4.png|''The same world as you! There are no innocents or any right thing to do, only what is best for us!'' CrazyIlia5.png|''There's only the humans that hate the Faunus, and those who stand by and do nothing!'' CrazyIlia6.png|''And the best way to eliminate hate, is with fear and terror!'' CrazyIlia7.png|''I don't like hurting people, Blake. But it's gotten us results'' CrazyIlia8.png|''Like turning you into a poor copy of Adam?'' CrazyIlia9.png|''(Oh crap, am I really turning into an Edgelord?!)'' CrazyIlia10.png|''...We all have to make sacrifices for the greater good. Even if they're painful'' CrazyIlia11.png|''Like killing your parents'' V5 08 00043.png|''WHAT?!'' CrazyIlia13.png|''And because we can't have you interfering, you're being shipped back to Mistral. To Adam'' And it was at this point that my opinion of Ilia was cemented: She topped Raven as the one character I hate the most in this show. I mean, seriously, at this point she's just Adam but worse. Just as stupid-radical and her arguments are even less rational and believable, if they even are rational and believable to begin with. And Adam at least has corny lines and edgy looks to make him unintentionally funny. Ilia doesn't. The only thing making her get some amount of sympathy from me is the fact that she's fighting her old friend Blake......which she does with almost-zero regret by now so that sympathy is out the window. CrazyIlia14.png|''WHAT?! Ilia, no, you can't do this, this isn't you!'' CrazyIlia15.png|''Yes it is, Blake. But you were always busy looking at Adam, I'm not surprised you never noticed'' CrazyIlia16.png|''...Wait, what?'' V5 08 00044.png|''The way you always looked at him...why couldn't you look at me that way too?'' .............Okay, so Ilia is a psycho-lesbian out of absolutely nowhere. Given her past interactions with Blake I always assumed they were just close friends. But nope, Ilia is actually the first character of some importance, that is LGBT, specifically Lesbian. And she's a Psycho-Lesbian. .........There are 3 problems with this. 1) To quote TvTropes: "This trope carries uncomfortable subtext: go straight or go crazy. Or at least have the decency of being bisexual so you can be of proper use for men. Add to that the way that real-life lesbians are often seen as irrational or man-hating by straight people of both genders as well as gay men, and it begins to look like a Discredited Trope." 2) It comes out of nowhere. While we saw enough to tell that they cared about each other as friends even when they were on opposing sides, nothing said or implied that Ilia saw Blake as anything more than a close, dear friend. Because unlike what the shipping kids in this fandom might insist, women can be close, dear friends to each other without any romantic interest in each other. In fact, I'm pretty sure that's a term of it's own: Romantic Friendship, which is what, regarding men, it's called a Bromance. 3)It is completely unnecesary. I invite you to come up to me right here, and try to tell me how Ilia being gay for Blake, was necesary, or how it even serves any real purpose. Because the only thing I see it being useful for, is to undermine Ilia's character, making her less "I know we're doing questionable things, but it's what has gotten us results", and more "why didn't you notice me senpai?! I'm gonna kill your parents and ship you to your abusive ex-boyfriend for not noticing me, because I'm Jelly-J!". What, is it to make Ilia more sympathetic? Please, this revelation only makes her feel like a joke instead, with pettier reasons for fighting Blake, and that's before considering how she did a 180º in that regard, going from heartbroken about the idea to barely minding it. With characters, one needs to follow the Law of Conservation of Detail. It doesn't matter how much the LGBT community whines about lack of media presence, if a character, minor or major, being gay, serves no real purpose and is not really necesary, there's no reason to include them, they'd just be a token. Same with any other kind of character. Ilia being gay serves no purpose, was unnecesary, doesn't even have appropiate build-up, undermines her character and makes her harder to take seriously......overall, this just feels insulting, and I'm not even LGBT or even liked Ilia. ---- On a sidenote, last time I checked, Monty, while alive, said that one of the characters we saw, back in Volume 1, was LGBT. Now, there's been no real evidence that anyone that showed-up in Volume 1 was gay, bisexual, transexual, or any of the other myriads of terms. Well, there's Emerald but she only showed up as a cardboard figure, and with different colors too. And only for like 5 seconds. So I don't count her. But now, we know Ilia is gay for Blake. And they've been friends since, at least, they were both roughly 12 years old. ....So maybe Blake is the LGBT character Monty mentioned? Though given her (questionable) love for Adam, I think she'd be more a Bisexual at most. ........But this is not something I'd like much. Blake is already a Faunus, and Faunus already are quite the analogy to black people. If Blake was LGBT on top of it.....well, I'd feel like she would become the "Token Minority Person", the character that, if there's a minority they want to include, they just slap it on her. Though it's not that important. CrazyIlia18.png|''But if you won't love me, no one will'' CrazyIlia19.png|''Yuma, you're with me. Trifa and...whatsyourface, take her to the docks'' SunToTheRescue1.png|''Alright, traitor, you're coming with us!'' V5 08 00045.png|''NOT IF I CAN HELP IT!'' SunToTheRescue3.png|''Wait, what?!'' V5 08 00047.png|''Finally some action!'' SunToTheRescue5.png|''Why didn't you tell me you were gonna go fight the WF? I've been bored the whole Volume!'' SunToTheRescue6.png|''1 moment lady, I'm twirling my staff'' V5 08 00048.png|''HOW DARE YOU INTERRUPT MY TWIRLING?!'' V5 08 00049.png|''Take this, you bitch!'' SunToTheRescue9.png|''And now...'' SunToTheRescue10.png|''FELIX PAWNCH!!!'' SunToTheRescue11.png|''Punches. The solution to every problem'' ....What would you think if I said that I liked these 20-something seconds of action more than Yang's entire fight with the bandits, in terms of animation, flash, speed, music, and excuse for happening? Still pales compared to everything in V1-3, but it's a step forward from that mess. Parents in Danger SunToTheRescue12.png|''Thanks for saving me, Sun'' SunToTheRescue13.png|''And thanks for not inviting me. You okay?'' BellasInDanger1.png|''You heard Ilia, they're gonna kill my parents, DO I LOOK OKAY TO YOU?!'' BellasInDanger2.png|''We need to be fast. Call the police and let's go!'' BellasInDanger3.png|''Wait, we got a police force here?!'' V5 08 00051.png|''Come on mom, pick up the phone...'' BellasInDanger5.png|''PEW, PEW PEW'' BellasInDanger6.png|''Fuck, this shit's getting intense, we need cover!'' V5 08 00052.png|''Alright, we'll be safe here, don't peek out'' ...Okay, first of all, I must point out....WHY THE HELL ARE THE GUARDS WEARING ARMOR '''THAT COMPLETELY EXPOSES THEIR KNEES?!' A shot to the knee, even if it doesn't kill you instantly, will make you fall, and then you become an easy target. And against people who don't give a shit about killing incapacitated enemies, that means death. Who designed that armor? I've seen middle-age armor that'd be more practical against bullets than that thing. Also, why the hell are they armed with just some puny gunknives?! Where are the rifles?! These guards are incompetent. Also, please don't tell me they're gonna kill Ghira and Kali without giving them a fight. Ghira is the manliest-looking guy in this entire show, and Kali literally shares her name with a freaking Goddess of Death. They can't go down without showing at least some degree of badassery! Even freaking CRDL got a moment to show off, even freaking Poor Man's Hanzo got a moment to show off prior to his death. And yet these 2, which are more badass looking than any of those 5, won't get even a tiny moment of action to show off? BellasInDanger8.png|''Alright, come're you bastards! BellasInDanger9.png|''Do you really think your puny pistol will stop us?!'' BellasInDanger10.png|''AH! He got me!'' BellasInDanger11.png|''Yeah! Take that!'' BellasInDanger12.png|''AH! My shoulder!'' BellasInDanger13.png|''I'm ded'' .........Okay this is just fucking STUPID, and ruins the scene for me. He got hit in the shoulder. It didn't leave even the tiny bit of blood, it didn't even show off any Aura sparks. Hell, I think it hit him in the armor instead of the proper shoulder. And yet he falls, as if he was shot in the heart. Which is just retarded. Yes, a shot to the shoulder can kill. But there's nothing to say that the shot even pierced him. Especially because AURA IS A THING, REMEMBER MILES? REMEMBER KERRY? I would say that it was a tranquilizer, given the sound he made as he fell limp behind the table. But that would be completely moronic on the WF's part, given who they are and what they're doing there. It's also completely inconsistent on the writer's part because it looks like they can't fucking decide what kind of show they're making. Again. We already got a character losing an arm on-screen, even shown to us in our face. We had another stabbed/painfully poked in the gut, and another hit by an arrow in the chest. All back in Volume 3. And in Volume 4 we had actual injury shown on-screen with Qrow's cut (blood included) and Tyrian's dismemberment. ....Yet now they are afraid to show actual injury by gunshot. In the same scene where we're supposed to fear for the safety of Ghira and Kali. It's not even that hard, just show some red spot on someone's skin/clothes at least. Just decide already. Is RWBY for 10 year olds? 5 year olds? 14 year olds? Is it gonna show some blood whenever characters are actually injured or killed? Or is it gonna leave all that out as if it was written by fucking 4Kids? BellaGuard Gunblade.png|''Argh, these guards are useless, I'll do it myself!'' V5 08 00053.png|''GET OUT OF MY HOUSE, YOU ANIMALS!'' KaliInAction2.png|''Ghira, I need some help here!'' GhiraInAction1.png|''I'm gonna kick your sorry ass, Chieftain!'' GhiraInAction2.png|''Denied'' GhiraInAction3.png|''Come back in 10 years!'' GhiraInAction4.png Okay, nevermind, they actually did get to show off. Ghira especially, launching that guy against the wall with 1 hand. My fears are relieved. GhiraInAction5.png|''PAAAAANNTHEEEERRAAAA....'' GhiraInAction6.png|''PAAAAWWWNCH!!!'' GhiraInAction7.png|''And down you go!'' V5 08 00055.png GhiraInAction9.png|''Guard! Leave these pussycats to me, go find my wife!'' GhiraInAction10.png|''And you...'' GhiraInAction11.png GhiraInAction12.png GhiraInAction13.png|''To the trash!'' GhiraInAction14.png|''AH! My back!'' GhiraInAction15.png|''I'm ded'' GhiraInAction16.png|''...The guards are useless!'' V5 08 00057.png|''Well brother, I believe it is time for the Chieftain to step down'' V5 08 00058.png|''I have no time for this'' V5 08 00059.png|''I SHALL GO WITH ALL MY MIGHT!'' V5 08 00060.png|''WITH ALL MY PRIDE!!!'' Ghira is the most badass character in this entire series and if you disagree I will channel my inner Hiro Shishigami and shoot you from your computer screen. Conclusion Despite not much happening in this episode until the very end - I mean, seriously, the plot doesn't really move forward for a whole 2/3 of the episode - I have to say that there was quite a lot to talk about. Summarizing the more important parts... First, we start with Yang showing us, that she DOES hate Blake for abandoning her like she did. And that's great, it would be completely stupid if she didn't given her life story, that she actually shared with Blake despite how personal it was. Granted, Weiss basically went to her room and told her "just forgive her already", with no real argument for it aside from "she's our friend". And it seemed to work somehow. So perhaps Yang won't hate Blake as much when they meet again. But as long as she still punches her in the face when they meet again, even if she forgives her inmediately afterwards, I'm happy. ---- But now, the actual parts where the plot moves forward: Blake's scene. The biggest problem with the scene is that it only happened because Blake was a moron, walking into a perfectly obvious trap, with a note that could've easily been faked, alone, during midnight, without telling anyone. What makes it more irritating is that there was a good alternative that didn't make Blake look like a moron: 1>Blake goes with Sun on their midnight recruiting. 2>Ilia turns out to have been watching from afar, and calls the Albains. 3>During their midnight stroll, Blake notices Ilia and goes after her. 4>She is ambushed by Yuma mid-chase and then webbed by Trifa. The Albains and their forces move onto the house. Same result, only that Blake didn't need to be an idiot for it to happen. ---- I'm not gonna say much about Ilia because all I had to say, I already said it. But I will summarize it with this: Ilia sucks. I hate her more than anyone else right now, and that's including assholes like Raven and Adam. She's irrational, blind, inconsistent, yet she has no redeeming qualities whatsoever aside from "pity points" for being psycho-lesbian for Blake. Hell, even Adam made his radicality sound more rational than how Ilia made her radicality sound. And even more, Adam is actually willing to work with humans while Ilia just wants to engage in genocide or something. ---- Now, the three amigos. Rockface, you had no character. Yuma, you're slightly less edgy than I expected, but you're still edgy. Also, he was trying too hard to rip-off Batman with that dropkick. Trifa...horrendous name aside, you remind me too much of Mercury appearance-wise, for whatever reason. I liked what little personality she showed, I like her looks, and while it isn't entirely sensical I understand why they had her shoot web out of her hands instead of out of her ass. ...But if there's one thing that triggers me, is those tattoos. They look horrendous, she looks as if the Human Torch burned out, as if she sticked her hands in ashes and dust. They don't fit the whole "spider girl" idea at all, and just look ugly as hell. ---- Now, Ghira and Kali. I'm happy that they actually showed some degree of badassery, I feared they would go down without some action. Kali could've shown more badassery, but she showed some. Ghira, meanwhile, did quite a lot and left us stunned. Especially because his fight scene nailed the way to design a fight scene that isn't fast. When fights go fast it keeps the audience excited and is easy to make them flashy. Making fights slower makes them look more fluid and cinematic, but can also make fights more boring and less flashy. So, what's the alternative if you don't want to make things fast again? Simple: Add more impact. Make every move, every hit, every punch and kick and slam, be like a meteor striking the Earth. It won't be as fast, but every hit will leave a mark. Also, right now, I seriously hope that Ghira ends up in BlazBlue Cross-Tag-Battle. It's very unlikely, but come on, just look at him! Ghira vs Tager would be a thing to die for. ---- And then there's the Albain's weapons. Just a golden palette swap of Ilia's weapon, with a pair of extra-blades to act like a crossguard of sorts. Dull, and uncreative. Unless it's some sort of "special agent weapon". Then it makes more sense. Ilia, Yuma, Trifa and Nondescript Rockface's uniforms are different from the normal mooks, so they're probably of a different rank or class. ....Actually, speaking of uniforms...the Albains's uniforms are pretty similar to the ones used by the Belladonnas's guards, when you leave out the Team Magma hoods. I wonder why.... ---- And, that's pretty much it. I don't hate this episode, though the plot only moves forward at the last 6 minutes. However, I hardly liked it. It was nice that Yang at least lost trust in Blake for what she did, but now I'm stuck with the doubt of whether Weiss's faulty excuses for Blake made Yang cheaply forgive Blake, or if it will be "Forgiven but not Forgotten" like I hope. Meanwhile, Blake's side of the episode, where the plot actually goes anywhere, especially her specific plot, is hurt by the fact that it's freaking dumb here and there. Starting with Blake walking into an obvious trap without thinking twice, to people dying from shots that leave no injury whatsoever, and then there's Ilia's "revelation" that undermines her character. The only saving grace is that we got Ghira kicking ass, in what is probably the best fight so far, being better than Yang's fight in Ep4 in practically every aspect, while being more than a "special effect exhibition" like Weiss's marathon fight with the Lancers. FUNNY V5E8 PICS :D!!! I didn't get many. I got very few. However, I feel there's a case of Quality over Quantity here. WaitWhat-Weiss.png|''"What"'' 8D-TiedBlake.png|This face. Just this face. -_- RabbitGuard.png|-_- 0Fucks-Weiss.png|''How much do you think I care?'' Category:Blog posts